Improved wood pavement



UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. BALLARD, OF ELMIRA, NEW YORK, AND BUREN B. WADDELL, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE; BUREN B. WADDELL ASSIGNS HIS RIGHT TO WM. w. BALLARD.

IMPROVED WOOD PAVEMENT.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 94,062', dated August 24, 1869.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, WTLLIAM W. BAL- LARD, of Elmira, in the -county of Ohemnng and State o'f New York, and BUREN B. .WAD- DELL, of Memphis. in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street- Pavements; and we do hereby declare tbe following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and in whicbv Figure l is a perspective view of a section of pavement embracing our improvement. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a piece of timber from which the block is cut, and showing the cuts made by the saw; and Fig. 3 is a perspective View of two of the blocks laid alongside of each other.

To more clearly illustrate our invention, we

.will proceed to describe the construction, &c., referring by letters to the drawings.

A represents the bed of the street, which is made slightly arched, the ends of the arch resting against the curbs B B. Strips C are laid upon said arch at right angles to the curb, and at convenient distances apart. Upon said strips vis laid a ooring, composed of boards of any desired dimensions, and the blocks are then laid on this flooring in rows, and so as to break joints. These blocks are of a wedge shape, and are so laid as that their bases shall touch, forming a continuous arch across the street, and leaving V-shaped spaces between the rows. These spaces are filled with concrete, or its equivalent, and the whole surface tarred over, if thought necessary. The-gutters are formed by inclining the bed slightly upward at the curb, and

splitting the ends of the blocks oft', to [it against the curb and the last one' of the street-blocks.

The peculiarity of the blocks used in this pavement is that they are wedge-shaped, and having both sides at acute angles with the base, and the grain running parallel 4with one and oblique to the other of these sides.

A more perfect description of these blocks Y and the manner of producing them is given in another pending application, now on le in the United States Patent Office, entitled A method of cutting blocks for street-pavements,7 prepared and executed by us on the 29th day of September, 1868.

The advantages of blocks having both sides beveled, with the grain running as described, over the ordinary wedge-shaped block, are, first and most important, that only one corner of the base is at all likely to become 'broken off by transportation and rough handling, whereas in the ordinary block both corners arey liable to such accidents. Another advantage of the relation of grain to the sides of the block is, that the V-shaped spaces have one perfectly smooth side, and consequently less opportunity is afforded to the gravel in the filling to jam, and leave the lower portion ofthe space loosely or entirely unfilled. This is believed to be a difficulty in pavements constructed of wedge-shaped blocks having the grain running vertically, and thereby exposing the endof the ber on both the bcveled sides of the blocks.

A pavement constructed of our improved blocks can be laid at a less cost than any other wedge-shaped pavement, owing to the cheapness of the blocks.v

lt has always been 'desirable to build pavements of wedge-shaped blocks, as they make a stronger and more durable pavement, and are more easily laid; but so far Vit has been inipracticable, owing to the expense of producing the blocks caused by the waste in material and eXtra sawing.

Having described the construction and advantages of our improved pavement, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. As an article of manufacture, Wedgeshaped blocks having the grain running parallel to oneA and oblique to the other of their beveled sides, and produced substantially in.

the manner referred to.

2. A wooden street-pavement constructed, substantially as hereinbefore described, of wedge-shaped blocks, with the grain running and produced in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and affixed our seals this 19th day .of July, 1869.

W. W. BALLARD. LL. s.] BUREN B.l WADDELL. [L s.]

In presence 0f- JOHNSTON G. FINNIE, GEO. W. L. CRooK. 

